HOUSES 83 
the rate of 12 inches of snow for 1 inch of rain, is very 
light all over the interior of the province. In the Okana- 
gan it averages 11 inches ; in the Kootenays, 21 to 26 
inches ; on the coast, 60 to 70 inches annually. 
But in both winter and summer there are abrupt and 
sudden changes of wind and temperature, though these 
changes do not as a rule last very long. The difference 
between the thermometer at noon and at the midnight 
following is sometimes as much as 40° F. The maximum 
record for summer is about 90° F., and the minimum for 
winter ranges from 2° to 26° below zero in the fruit- 
growing districts. 
On the Pacific Coast the temperature runs very much 
higher all through the year; the rainfall is very much 
heavier, in some districts very heavy indeed (140 inches) ; 
and there is more wind. 
Hovsrs.—Most houses are built of wood, and covered 
with shingles or slates of sawn cedar. Nearly all are 
provided with verandas, which keep the lower rooms 
cooler in summer. A log house, the chinks between the 
logs plastered with clay or cement, is warm and cosy in 
winter, and cool in summer, and is inexpensive to build. 
Every house should be provided with a good underground 
cellar, cemented if possible, in which to preserve perish- 
able foods and supplies in the winter. If many green 
crops and roots—e.g., potatoes, turnips, carrots, cabbages 
—are grown, it will be necessary to construct an outdoor 
cellar in which to store them during the winter. This is 
best made in an earthen bank, and should be cemented 
inside and covered with earth. 
The houses are heated with stoves, which burn wood, 
